Free Princess SOS by Sara Page

to how he was speaking before. It sounds like he’s trying to reassure me.
    Something brushes across my knuckles and I feel an intense jolt of sensation. Huh?
    I peek my eyes open and he does it again. He brushes his lips across my knuckles. Again, there’s a jolt and then something inside me clenches.
    “I still don’t understand,” I cry and the tears start coming. Why is he kissing me? Am I having a perverted dream again?
    He speaks again, softly and slowly, and strangely I find a bit of comfort in it.
    “Are you going to hurt me?” I ask. I feel my nose about to drip so I wipe it with the back of my other hand.
    The alien answers softly. For all I know he’s telling me he’s going to rip me apart and wear my skin. It’s the tone that’s reassuring. The tone that brings my heart rate back down and lulls me into a momentary break from the panic.
    Surely if he meant to kill me or eat me, he wouldn’t go through all this trouble… he wouldn’t be crouched in front of me, holding my hand? He’s so big. All he has to do is wrap those thick fingers of his around my neck and it’s lights out. I have no weapons, I have no means to defend myself. He can easily take what he wants from me and there’s nothing I can do about it. Yet, that’s not what he’s doing.
    We stare at each other. I don’t know what to make of him. In my mind, he’s one giant contradiction. I wish I could understand him.
    “Where I come from, we nod our heads for yes and shake our heads for no.”
    He nods his head.
    “So you are going to hurt me?!” I cry out, thinking he’s answering my question.
    He’s quick to frown and shake his head.
    “You’re not going to hurt me?”
    He nods his head fast.
    “Why are you doing this?”
    He just stares at me.
    Oh, right. Yes or no questions only.
    “Are you going to kill me?”
    He shakes his head again.
    “May I have some clothes?”
    He just stares at me again, and I wonder if he didn’t understand the question or something. Finally, he nods his head.
    “May I have my hand back?” My fingers are beginning to tingle.
    He looks down at my hand and sighs deeply. He let’s go as if he’s reluctant to do so.
    I flex my fingers then pull my hand back. “Thank you.”
    We fall into silence.  He holds himself very still. I try to think of some yes or no questions that will give me an idea of what he intends or expects.
    “When you rolled my pod, I thought you were trying to kill me.”
    His eyebrows twitch. Funny, because of his glowing red eyes, I never really noticed them until now. They’re thick, black, and very expressive. I look closer at the rest of his face. For a purple guy with evil eyes, he’s actually not that bad looking. He has a fine nose and full lips. His forehead is broad and his chin is strong, just like the rest of him.
    He shakes his head.
    “Were you trying to hurt me?”
    He shakes his head again and it’s my turn to frown.
    “Does this ship work?”
    He shakes his head.
    “Dammit.”
    He nods.
    I smile for a second, his eyes flash. I bite my lip to hide my smile. What was that?
    I look away. I’m so out of sorts. “May I have some clothes now?”
    Maybe it’s because he seems to be respecting me and because he’s answering my questions, but I don’t quite feel like my life is in danger now. The fact that he hasn’t tried to touch me again certainly helps. Though, something weird seems to be happening between us, and I’m not entirely comfortable or sure where it’s leading. The friction has changed. Or maybe it’s always been there but because you were so afraid you didn’t notice it. Or more like I’ve been stuck alone, in a pod for however many days now with no one to talk to and he’s the first… thing I’ve been able to communicate with.
    Regardless, I feel exhaustion starting to creep in. It’s been a long day, too much has happened. There’s been too much thinking done and there’s still too much to figure out. If I can get some clothes